Choosing hospice care isn't about giving up. It's about making every day count.

Terminally ill people who choose hospice receive care for their physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. They're no longer seeking a cure, but they do want to live their last weeks and months as comfortably as possible and with dignity.

Medicare's hospice benefit has helped millions of Americans and their families cope with the final stages of terminal illnesses. To qualify, you must be eligible for Medicare's Part A hospital insurance, and your physician and your hospice medical director must certify that you have six months or less to live, assuming your illness runs its normal course. You also must sign a statement that you're choosing hospice care and forgoing curative treatment for your terminal condition.

Hospice care allows the terminally ill to live their final days as comfortably as possible.

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Hospice programs follow a team approach. The specially trained caregivers typically include doctors, nurses, counselors and social workers, among others. A doctor and nurse are on call 24/7 to care for you and support your family.

The hospice benefit allows you and your family to stay together in your home unless you require hospital care. If your hospice team determines you need in-patient care at some point, its members will make the arrangements for your stay.

Hospice's main goal is to relieve your pain and manage your symptoms. As long as the care comes from a Medicare-approved hospice, Medicare covers the physician services, nursing care, drugs, medical equipment and supplies, as well as physical and occupational therapy. Although the hospice benefit is part of original Medicare, it's also available to anyone with a Medicare Advantage plan. Both original Medicare and Medicare Advantage will continue to pay for the treatment of other conditions unrelated to your terminal illness.

To allow caregiving families an occasional break, you can request to stay up to five days at a time at a hospice facility, hospital or nursing home. For that, you pay 5 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for respite care.

Low-cost care

Overall, you pay almost nothing for your hospice care. There is no deductible. Besides your 5 percent share for the inpatient respite care, your only expense is the $5 or less you pay for each prescription drug you take to relieve pain or manage your symptoms.

You can receive hospice care as long as you're recertified. After 90 days of care, you're re-evaluated by the hospice's medical director or another hospice doctor to determine if the care is still appropriate. Another re-evaluation is done after another 90 days and then every 60 days.

If your health improves or your illness goes into remission, you may not need to remain in a hospice program. In those cases, you'd return to your previous Medicare coverage. If someday your condition worsens, you can go back to hospice care.

Patients and family members who want to learn more about hospice programs in their area should talk to their doctor or call their state's hospice organization. The number for Texas is 1-800-580-9270.

Help finding a hospice

A new Medicare online tool is also available to help terminally ill patients and their loved ones find the right hospice service. The Hospice Compare website at medicare.gov/hospicecompare displays information on about 4,000 hospices nationwide. It allows patients, family members and health care providers to get a snapshot of the quality of care that a hospice service offers.

The Hospice Compare website contains a list of questions you might ask when looking for a hospice program. They include: When I call with an urgent need, how long will it take for someone from the hospice team to respond? How will the team manage my pain or other symptoms that arise? How will the team prepare me and my family for what to expect?

For more about Medicare's hospice benefit, visit Medicare's website at medicare.gov or call Medicare's 24/7 customer service line at 1-800-633-4227. A Medicare publication, "Medicare Hospice Benefits," can also be downloaded from the website or requested by phone.

Bob Moos is the Southwest regional public affairs officer for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.